Last week, new organ donor law passed the New York State Senate and Assembly. If it is signed by the governor, advocates say it would dramatically increase the rate of people who register to donate their organs. When New Yorkers sign up for their drivers license, they would have to check a box saying "Yes" they want to be an organ donor, or a box that says "skip this question."

Now, they can skip the question altogether.

New York's rate is among the worst: 19 percent.

A new high court decision just opened the door for a much more radical option: paying people for their organs. A decision this week by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals makes it legal to compensate someone up to $3,000 for their donation of bone marrow cells. It only applies in the West Coast states covered by the court, and it only applies to bone marrow that's donated through a method similar to blood donation.

People who donate through the more traditional way of getting cells out of the hip bone with a long needle cannot be compensated.